Chapter 06: A Desert Encounter
Light Imperial Tank x 3 | officers = Scout Leader x 1 Shocktrooper Leader x 3 Lancer Leader x 1 | aces = Malya the Dust | ace drop = ZM SG 1(g) }} Chapter 06: A Desert Encounter, also known as Encounter in the Desert, is the sixth chapter of Valkyria. The combat mission in this Chapter is called The Battle of Barious Desert. Story Squad 7 arrives in Barious Desert along with a column of Gallian tanks and troops to confirm reports of an Imperial squadron that had parked themselves in the vicinity of the Barious Ruins. Alicia is seen scanning the horizon through a pair of binoclears atop the Edelweiss accompanied by the other members of the squad who are helping themselves to watermelon. As they survey the barren expanse of desert, marred by countless holes blasted into its surface, Largo mumbles a few choice complaints to himself. Noting Largo's displeasure, Rosie informed him that the Darcsens were the ones responsible for turning this area into the barren wasteland that stretched out before them now. According to Rosie, the Darcsens were masters of mining ragnite and used some kind of "dark arts" to burn the city that once stood in the area to ash. Ellet, who has been assigned to Squad 7 for the operation comments about how the Imperials must be up to something if they were moving their troops into such a strategically unimportant territory, the conversation however is cut short by Alicia who has spotted the imperial forces not far from their position, Squad 7 scramble to engage them and the battle of barious desert begins. Topography This map is another large, narrow one like the last chapter only with your deployment zone in the South and the Imperial HQ in the far North. The area itself is a sandy desert covered in shallow trenches and ruins, in the centre is a rocky outcrop with an ancient structure just behind, atop this are a number of snipers which will harass your advancing troops. Beyond the final large trench is a large open area set up to be a killzone by the imperials occupied by a trio of light tanks and numerous snipers which will continually spawn in the enemies main HQ. Landmarks and Street Names *Trench 01 *Trench 02 *Trench 03 *Trench 04 *Trench 05 You Will Now Be Briefed On The Operation "You will now be briefed on the operation. The enemy is spread out across a wide area of the desert. You'll move in from the south and take them out. Along the way, you'll find the standing remains of ruins, which should make for good cover from enemy fire. Your objective is to claim the enemy's base camp. There's a lot of distance to cover out there. I'd recommend adding a long-range sniper unit or two. When you're ready to advance, though, their limited AP can mean they might fall behind. In such a case, move them to the nearest camp after clearingthe area of enemies and have them retreat. Then, after your advance units occupy the next enemy camp, you can redeploy them there. That'll speed them along. Swapping and leapfrogging units via your camps should be a big help out there. You'd do well to remember it." 'Mission objectives' Victory *The enemy base camp is captured Failure *Welkin dies *The enemy occupies Gallia's base camp *All ally soldiers and reserves are killed *20 turns pass "All right, we're set to begin. Good luck!" Strategy *Before the mission starts, ensure that you have visited the headquarters and spent the Exp and Ducats earned in the previous mission and equip your troops and armoured vehicles with the latest weapons and upgrades. *Take Captain Varrot's advice and deploy a sniper or two on the high ground to the East. A Shocktrooper and Scout should also be deployed to the west to cover the snipers on the hill from advancing enemy troops. *As mentioned in the briefing it is not necessary to fill all deploy positions, but be sure to deploy your three leader units Alicia, Largo and Rosie. After capturing your first base you can leapfrog slower members straight into it. It cost of 1 CP per character but is an effective tactic for getting your lancers and snipers into positions where they are needed. *This mission is a fairly simple slog towards the enemy HQ in the North, use the trenches and ruined structures to protect your troops as they advance. Note that the ruins count as urban terrain. *The Edelweiss' mortar is extremely effective at blasting the enemy troops from their entrenched positions; however, the enemy have many hidden lancers so ensure you scout them and end your turn in a safe position. *There is a snipers nest atop a ruined structure just west of the enemy's intermediate camp, the pair of snipers there will cause real problems if they aren't dealt with quickly. *Sandstorms will arrive and restrict your vision as soon as a soldier gets past trench 4, and then for every other turn after that. It does not reduce interception range much, but will greatly reduce the enemy's active attack range. You can use the chance to advance into enemy trenches without risking long to medium range enemy fire in enemy turn. But if the storm is triggered in enemy turn, such as if a grenade or mortar blows your soldier out of trench 4, it will recess iyour next immediate turn. *Since the enemy will spawn reinforcement every turn, take out the intermediate base to the east of the map near the sniper's nest as soon as possible, this will also allow you to deploy lancers into positions where they can attack the three Imperial light tanks guarding the most northern quarter of the map. *There are two major strategies to take the Imperial HQ, the first is to strike out from the captured enemy base with lancers and your tanks and engage in heavy tank combat with the three imperial light tanks, the second quicker but more risky strategy involves flanking the enemy on their west flank with scouts and clearing out the enemy base with grenades in one turn. *The enemy sniper ace Malya the Dust is situated in the North-Eastern area of the map, initially hidden behind the ruins of an old building. He drops the ZM SG 1(g) sniper rifle. A Rank Strategy * For the A rank, the player has 3 turns, and the mission is easily beaten in 2: the most important thing to ensure a smooth victory is making sure the mission is won on the same turn that the Gallian forces enter the enemy's main base camp. Make sure to reserve 3 spots for the reserves to get summoned on Turn 02. * In order to do so, first of all (Turn 01), place your 2 best Snipers on the east side cliff (preferably Marina on the right/east side, and either Oscar or Catherine.), and have them taken down any targets with pinpoint headshots within their gunsights respectively; Marina should deal with the right/east side from her range, where Oscar or Catherine should deal with left/west side from theirs as well. * Next, move Alicia towards the first enemy base through the trenches, climb the stairs on her left side to get near the remaining enemy Shocktroop, and then take him down with a grenade, and finally, capture the enemy base flag and crouch down near the sandbags for cover. At the last 3 CP of Turn 01, summon your second team of a Shocktrooper, a Scout, and an Engineer in order to deal with the nearby threats of landmines and enemy assaults later. * On the enemy phase (Turn 01), the enemy right/east side will attempt to take you down with Lancers, so it's better to upgrade all of your troops up until Level 9 or above, along with the best available weapons and armours. * On the next player phase (turn 02), time to move Alicia towards trench #2, first to take down an enemy nearby; once the sandstorm has kicked in, move her heading northeast while avoiding enemy tank detection and landmine very carefully. Afterwards, move her north to find The enemy sniper ace Malya the Dust is situated in the North-Eastern area of the map, initially hidden behind the ruins of an old building. Take him down with a headshot, although he may evade your shot sometimes, so please make sure to save first. * As for the finisher, move your second Scout also heading northeast, and then northwest towards the enemy base camp. As you approach the enemy base camp, first throw a grenade to knock off the enemy ace Shocktrooper guarding the camp, and then finish him off with a headshot, in order to capture the base camp flag at last. Rewards Aftermath The militia fought hard and manage to rout the Imperial forces from the area, with the battle over and the sandstorms subsided, militia squads 1 & 7 position themselves around an ancient temple ruin in the centre of the wasteland. Faldio explains that the temple is said to have been constructed by the Valkyrur a minllenium ago, the squad ponder what the Imperial Army could possibly want with such a place and while they secure the area Faldio, Welkin and Alicia venture inside the ancient structure to investigate. Deep inside the temple Maximilian, escorted by Selvaria Bles explores the catacombs in search of the Valkof, an ancient weapon from times passed. Selvaria using the mysterious power of the Valkyrur reads the aged runes engraved upon the walls, they state that the Valkof, the holy lance sleeps in the bosom of Randgriz, "Made pillar of its keeper's keep". Maximilian is noticeably pleased, commenting when questioned by Selvaria that a beast fit to bear the burden of the Valkof will soon be at their disposal, and that he intends to use it as a weapon to extend the power of the Imperial crown to all of Europa. Notes/Trivia *The ZM SG 1(g) sniper rifle dropped by Malya the Dust has higher zoom levels than GSR-2 to GSR-4 and even early Brondels, with high damage but very short range. It allows a low-level sniper to more accurately hunt mid range targets or to counter snipe before GSR-10 is available. Either way, it must be collected if the player wishes to earn the Excellence in Armament medal. Category:Valkyria Chronicles Missions Category:Valkyria Chronicles